France Rail Tours

Railtrail’s France programme runs from narrow-gauge steam journeys in the north to Mediterranean coastal routes in the south, with a festive river cruise through Alsace and a combined Switzerland-and-Rhine tour among the current departures. Every tour includes a Tour Manager, hotel accommodation, and a full excursion programme. Guests can join at London St Pancras on Eurostar, or travel independently to the hotel on a Tour Base Fare.

All Inclusive Train Holidays to France

A Railtrail fare to France covers hotel accommodation, a full excursion programme, and Tour Manager support throughout. Rail travel is the centrepiece of every itinerary rather than an add-on to a coach tour. Guests can join the Tour Manager at London St Pancras, where Eurostar travel is included along with a welcome drink and snack before boarding, or travel independently to the hotel on a Tour Base Fare.

The programme spans the length of the country. Northern France is where the steam heritage tours concentrate, built around preserved narrow-gauge lines and wartime military railways. In the south, steam-hauled routes cross dramatic viaducts and run along the Mediterranean coast. Alsace features in festive river cruise itineraries through its Christmas markets, and the Rhine appears again in tours that pair a rail journey through Switzerland with river cruising through Germany.

A small deposit from £75pp secures a place. For the European rail holidays either side of France, our rail holidays in Switzerland and Germany rail tours share much of the same Rhine and Alpine geography.

France Rail Holidays for Steam and Rail Enthusiasts

Northern France’s steam tours centre on former wartime military railways, now preserved and run behind narrow-gauge locomotives, with an annual steam festival adding charter runs not available to independent visitors. In the south, the route network is different in character altogether: steam haulage across dramatic viaducts, a run along the Mediterranean coast, and journeys aboard some of the region’s mountain lines.

These itineraries are built around exclusive charters arranged for the group, rather than a single heritage ride bolted onto a general sightseeing tour. A Railtrail Tour Manager travels throughout, with route knowledge built up from running the same journey repeatedly.

For steam and heritage journeys further afield, our steam train holidays in Europe programme covers the rest of Europe.

France by Rail and River

Several France itineraries pair escorted rail travel with river cruising, using each mode for what it does best. A rail journey covers the scenic overland leg, often through Alsace or across Switzerland into the Alps, before guests transfer to a river cruise along the Rhine or the Main for the touring that follows. Excursions from the ship, whether that’s a Christmas market in Strasbourg or a vineyard town along the Rhine, are included as part of the itinerary rather than optional extras booked locally.

The train covers the overland scenery, the ship takes over for the riverside towns and villages. Guests step off the train and straight onto the ship, with the cases already on board.

For more of this style of holiday, our Rail & Cruise Tours programme covers the full range across Europe.

Trust and Booking Information

Railtrail is an independent, family-run rail holiday specialist. The France programme follows the same approach as every destination we cover: quality before quantity. A small number of departures, planned in-house using close knowledge of the routes, rather than a large catalogue assembled to fill a brochure.

Railtrail is rated Excellent on Trustpilot, and was awarded Bronze for Best Travel Company for Rail Holidays at the 2025 British Travel Awards. Non-flight packages, including the full France programme, are protected under ABTOT membership number 5577. A place can be secured with a deposit from £75pp.

For full pricing and fare structures, see our Tour Fares Explained page, or Request a Brochure for the complete current programme.